Trapdoor In The Sun
by CynicAlb
Summary: Daniel tried to retire, he tried to go out gracefully, but they just keep pulling him back in. Mystery, Madness and Mayhem abounds!


"You got the Presidential Medal of Freedom?" asked Air Force Cadet Annie Hayden as she pulled the wooden case from the box in the closet.

"Oh, that?" said the old man dismissively, "Just leave it with the others, and keep looking for the box I told you about."

"There are others?" she asked, going through the box. She pulled out two more medal cases and a stack of award plaques. "Why don't you put these up?" she asked fingering the engraved lettering, memorizing the names and dates placed there. After being assigned to help this man as part of her community awareness class Annie was thrilled to finally find something in the man's house that wasn't a couple of thousand years old, and covered in a thick layer of dust.

"Not worth the kindling they're mounted on," said the old man, grumpily, "Now stop being nosy and get the box I asked you for."

"Yeah, yeah," she said replacing the awards and moving the box out of the way.

"That's very nice don't they teach respect for superiors at The Academy these days?"

"You're a civilian," she said, "You're not my superior."

"I'm older, wiser, and bigger than you," he said gruffly adjusting his thick glasses, "rank isn't the only indication of superiority."

"What did you get them for?" she asked referring to the medals.

"I could tell you I guess," he said, "but I'm getting on and I'd probably make a big mess if I had to kill you."

The girl smiled but the old man's expression remained passive, "You're serious," she said in realization.

"I never joke about killing people," he said with a bland expression.

"But the Medal of Freedom is a public award; the reason has to be known when they present them and the fact that you have two. What did you do?" she asked absently going through another box, she pulled out a photo of a young man with floppy blond hair sat on a camel in front of a pyramid.

"I was an archaeologist," said the old man wistfully, taking the picture from her.

"Was?"

"Oh, a long time ago."

"So what you stopped being one?"

"Nothing as abrupt as that, I went on a journey as an archaeologist and linguist and became something very different along the way."

"And what was that?" she asked.

"My, aren't we full of questions today? Now, bring that box up here for me," Annie dragged out the box that turned out to be full of pictures.

"What is all this stuff anyway?"

The old man began going through the box slowly and methodically, "By today's standards, it's a box of historical artifacts."

"Yeah," said the girl, "no one has hard copy anymore everything is pixilated."

"Don't I know it," grumbled the man, "it's a crying shame for future generations who want to learn about their ancestors and find piles of plastic and incompatible software," He smiled as he pulled out a small photo album, "Here it is."

"What's that?"

"Well, in the days of hard copy we used to collect up photos and put them in a book and we called this book a photo album," The girl rolled her eyes.

"I know what it is, but what's in it?"

"Memories."

The girl rolled her eyes. "What you don't have any in your head?"

"I like to keep this close just in case they fall out again."

"Again?"

"Long story," the old man's face quirked up in a smile.

"You seem to have a lot of those," she said trying to prompt him, but he was lost in the memories contained in the album.

Annie had to wonder at her assignment to this man. All her classmates had been assigned to retired Generals and Officers that lived around the school. They were all war heroes, great men and women to look up to and learn from, and what did Annie get? The burned out archeologist with two PMF's and every other civilian award ever stuffed in a box in his hall closet. If Annie hadn't seen those she might have thought she'd been given the wrong address or something. It was burning her up with curiosity; just what had Dr Daniel Jackson done to earn all those medals and still end up living alone gathering dust along with all his artifacts? Just then the phone rang and Annie was startled out of her reverie.

"Daniel Jackson," barked the old man into his ancient receiver; most people had headsets now, but not him, "Oh, hey Jack, yes I got your present thanks so much. Yep, she's here now." There was a pause as the person on the other end said something and Jackson rolled his eyes. "I'll be sure to tell her you said that Jack….No, I haven't been boring her she's helping me clear out some boxes…no, the ones with the pictures and some old medals and stuff…I told you not worth the paper it's printed on….I can't tell her about that whatever happened to classified?...Really? Now that's interesting, when did this happen? ...What makes her so special? ...No, kidding she's Kayla's daughter? I didn't even know she was married!" Daniel glanced up at Annie who was trying hard to make it look like she wasn't avidly eavesdropping. "I miss him too… yeah I know it makes me feel old. Hey, not all of us are intimate with the man from New Mexico, no I wouldn't even consider asking for that, I've lived long enough as it is probably longer than I should have to begin with. Well, what about you I'm sure if you asked…Jack, Jack I'm kidding your predecessor was just as vocal about the issue too, it's not as if you had a choice in the matter…Yeah, back then? I might have been tempted. God I feel like Machello in some ways…"

Annie was confused, this man knew about her mother, and then it hit her; Jack! Jack O'Neill was the commandant of the Air Force Academy, the youngest officer to do so in the history of the school. Rumor had it that he was involved in some highly top-secret programs and that's how he rose so fast in the ranks to being a General at 40. But what would a young and relatively hip, Air Force General be doing hanging out with a burned out civilian like Jackson? Annie looked over at the man still comfortably chatting away on the phone. It looked like they were friends, but…She was broken out of her thoughts when Jackson held his hand over the phone and mouthed 'see you tomorrow'; Annie just nodded and left.

* * *

"Colonel Ferretti is so cool!" said Jason Miller, a twenty something cadet with brown hair and a mouthful of french-fries. "He's told me so many great stories about his service days, in the Middle East, and in South America." 

"Yeah, Major Siler really cracked me up, said he's been electrocuted so many times his friends started calling him Sparky!" Laughed Jennie Carson; a sprightly young redheaded cadet. "What about yours Annie?" she asked her friend sitting across the table in the Academy lunchroom.

Annie looked up from her quiet contemplation of her Ancient history textbook and looked at her two friend's eager expressions. "Dr Daniel Jackson was an archeologist and a linguist." she said succinctly.

"And?" asked Jason.

"And that's it, that's all I could get out of him. I don't think he really wanted me there."

"What's the point then?" asked Jennie picking around with the food on her plate.

"I don't know, he got a call just before I left I think it was Commandant O'Neill, but the way he talked it was like they were friends or something."

"That's weird I thought we were supposed to be assigned to retired personnel." said Jennie.

"Jackson is retired, he's like 60 or 70, and get this he's got the Presidential Medal of Freedom, twice!"

"What?" the other two cried.

"That's unheard of," said Jason.

"Who is this guy anyway?" asked Jennie.

"I don't know, but he's got every civilian commendation known to man gathering dust in a box under his stairs."

"Then how come I've never heard of him before?"

* * *

Daniel opened the door to his house and rolled his eyes at the man on the doorstep. 

"I can't believe you've got the nerve to show up here," he said turning back into the house leaving the door open.

"Nice to see you too Daniel," said Jack.

"You know you look just like he did when we first met."

"Asgard clone."

"Yeah, well, what brings you by; when I haven't seen or heard from you, except for the occasional phone call, in over two years."

"It's about Cadet Hayden."

"Jack, I agreed to do the program when I retired and had to stay here."

"Yeah, I know it's just…"

"This is the first kid I've been sent in the five years I've been retired, and why? Because she's the great-granddaughter of a great man I once knew."

"Kayla and her husband died six months ago, right before Annie was set to join the academy."

"And what? Because she's an orphan too we're going to have some instant bond?"

"It's not like that Daniel."

"God damn-it Jack! You can't just walk in here and expect us to be the same, it's not; you're not him."

"And I'm not trying to be! I left him behind years ago, it's why I decided not to fly, and did my degrees instead. Look at me Daniel; do you really think he'd settle for being a teacher? To live behind a desk?"

"He did that."

Jack snorted, "For what? A few years before he retired; ran away to his cabin the woods."

"They made him retire," said Daniel quietly.

"What?"

"It was the Ancient knowledge twice, and every other time he had his head messed with it takes a toll you know. In the end he wasn't quite himself."

"He went nuts?"

"No, he lived well and died in his sleep, but he started making bad decisions and laughing at inappropriate moments. They found lesions on his brain, physical damage exacerbated over time."

"No one told me."

"I don't imagine you were on his contact list."

"No, I guess not." They stood in uncomfortable silence for a while. "Look about Hayden, I know it's weird but I think she's got it in her to be great she's just stuck in a funk about her parents."

"If you think she'd make a good recruit send her to Cam, or Lou I'm sure they'd be thrilled to sound out the next generation of galactic explorers. You know my stance on this Jack."

"Daniel if it were up to me…"

"But it's not so let's just drop it," Daniel sighed, "Come on I'll put the coffee on and you can tell me why Cadet Hayden is so special she gets stuck with an old fart like me to play with."

* * *

Cadet Hayden knocked on the door and got no answer, after a few minutes she tried the handle; it turned. 

"Hello?" she called. "Dr Jackson?" Annie heard voices coming from the kitchen.

"You can't be serious! I am 68 years old, Jack and no longer an employee of the government!"

"Daniel one has nothing to do with the other, this is about protecting what we've built all these years."

"What we built is gone Jack, all that's left is the standing orders and big metal ring at the bottom of a mountain."

"The JCS are willing to up the budget; get things back to how they were."

"And this had nothing to do with Atlantis?"

"So it was a bad idea to leave Carter in charge when the war with the Wraith broke out full blown."

"A bad idea? They're all dead Jack!" Annie decided she'd heard enough.

"Anyone home?" she stuck her head in the kitchen, "Sorry, the door was open," then she noticed Jack and stood to attention. "Commandant, sir!" she said.

"At ease Cadet, I was just leaving," then he turned to Daniel, "Think about it," Daniel didn't look up as Jack left. Annie stood still in the silence, for a few minutes the old man didn't even acknowledge her and then he seemed to wake up suddenly.

"Come on, Cadet let's take a ride."

* * *

Daniel drove his beat up Ford truck with speed and control, they rode in silence because he didn't say anything and Annie was afraid of the new intensity in the pale blue eyes now focused on the road. They came to a stop outside a small field on the edge of town. Daniel just got out and Annie had to speed up to catch him as he hoofed it up a nearby hill.  
It was only after a moment that Annie realized this was a grave site. Four intricately carved markers topped the hill. 

"They aren't buried here," he said after a moment, "I just needed somewhere to remember, and this was as good a spot as any," he pointed to the first marker. "My first wife Sha're, killed in a far away place by an evil of the purest kind. Her actual grave was destroyed when the war that killed her over took her homeland, and killed her people. My friend and my second love Janet Frasier; killed in the war by another evil in another far away place. My surrogate daughter, Cassie killed in yet another war 3 years ago. This last one is for my best friend, who died in both wars almost as many times as I did, but in the end died of everything that happened to him during the fighting and beyond."

Annie gasped at the name on the last marker; it read "For Jack O'Neill, friend and family in this world and beyond."

"I don't understand."

"He's related, to the Jack O'Neill you know, that's how I know him too."

"Why did you bring me here?"

"Because Jack thinks you've got what it takes to be great, and maybe you do, but I wanted to show you the cost of this adventure before we throw you to the wolves."

"Is this a test?"

"In a way, this is a choice a huge world defining choice, but a choice nonetheless. I made it, and I didn't have near as much information as you do."

"A choice usually involves options, what is it I'm choosing?"

"There is a program, for specially chosen cadets to train and prepare for a special high clearance duty assignment. It's dangerous, with a high mortality rate and you'll probably never be the same again."

"But…"

"It is without a doubt the most important operation on the planet, and," he said with a smile, "it's a hell of an adventure."

"What about them?" she asked gesturing to the markers.

"I loved them, with all my heart and soul and losing them were some of the hardest times in my life."

"But…"

"But had I not been a part of this, I would never even have known them and I know that I am better with those memories than without them."

"How long do I have to decide?"

"Until tomorrow at sunset," Daniel began the walk back to the car, but then stopped on the slope. He turned back to Annie his face suddenly a mask of stone, "Run, run now." Annie looked down the hill another car was parked beside Daniel's, and three men in black suits were making their way up the hill with weapons drawn.

"What's going on?"

"I said run!" he shoved her back up the hill and they both started running towards a copse of trees on the other side of the clearing. She heard a yell and looked back to see Daniel go down in a haze of electricity. "Run!" he cried as the suits started gaining on them. Annie turned back thinking to get help, but she was struck by a pain, that left her breathless and paralyzed and then nothing.

* * *

"OW!" Annie cried as she was thrust into consciousness. 

"Yeah," said a low shaky voice, "the first couple of times will do that to you."

Annie squinted into the darkness. "Dr Jackson?"

"So, they tell me," he said with a sigh. Annie sat up slowly; painfully every muscle was still twitching with the shock. Jackson looked pale, older than he had in the light of the hillside, but his eyes, in the dimness of wherever they were, Annie could see that his eyes had set to a dark blue pupil. This was no longer the older codger she met two days ago, nor was he the impassioned old man from the hilltop. Annie took in that look and realized where she'd seen it before; in the eyes of the battle hard veterans that came to speak at the academy. It was a look born of hard lessons and grim determination, and she couldn't help wondering if that look had anything to do with the box of medals she had seen that first day. "The pain will fade in a little while," he said coughing a little and groaning.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm old," he said, "Far too old for all this shit." he hunched his shoulders and Annie saw blood on his arm.

"You're hurt." she said crawling to him, since walking was out of the question just now.

"I'm fine," he said. "They had to make sure no one would find us."

"What's that got to do with cutting your arm?" she asked inspecting the wound on his bicep and repositioning the amateur dressing that was already applied.

"I was implanted with a tracking device some time ago. I guess they were afraid someone might still have the frequency."

"Okay, I'm getting a whole lot of freaked out here, now I want some answers what the hell is going on here?"

"The simplest answer is this, until around five years ago I worked on a classified project under Cheyenne Mountain. During that time certain government agencies found my work useful in ways I didn't approve of. They went rogue and tried to take it from the base. I guess since I've retired they think I might be willing to come over to their side, though why they waited five years I don't know."

"Because you haven't set foot outside your house in five years," They both turned to see a man had stepped into the room and suddenly it was very bright in there as well. Daniel looked around it was larger than a standard cell, but still with the grey walls and the grey door and no windows.

"And you are?" asked Daniel, if he was surprised he didn't show it. The man was as equally non-descript as the room; dark hair, dark eyes, dark suit.

"Agent Lees." he said. "And you are the great Dr Jackson, your reputation precedes you."

"Lucky me."

Annie was confused by the banter, and a little put out that neither man had acknowledged her since the lights went on, but then again she didn't think she wanted in on this conversation.

"I can't tell without my glasses;" said Daniel looking at the agent thoughtfully "are you a puppet or a ring master?" Annie jumped as Daniel fired off a few phrases in a language she couldn't place. Lees didn't move. "A puppet then," said Daniel with a smile, "go tell your master I don't deal with lackey's and you should let the girl go, she hasn't a clue what's going on won't be of any use to you in the long run." Annie glared at him indignantly; he wasn't supposed to be saving her, that wasn't the way this worked.

"He's sick," she said, "He's no good to you if he's dead."

"He'll be treated," said Lees, with a thin smile. Annie felt Jackson shudder under her hands and she realized she hadn't let go of him since checking his wound. Lees left and room was dim once more.

"You shouldn't have said anything," said Daniel shrugging out of her hold.

"Why? I was trying to help."

"I know, but now he thinks you're worth something."

"Why's that?"

"Because you told him that you care."

Annie was terrified, her situation had just gone from bad to 'where's a priest when you need one?', Jackson had been pulled out of the room by two men, and she'd gotten a split lip for her concern. Jackson had put up a good fight, she thought, even for an old guy he was quite spry. They ended up pointing the gun at her, and he stopped struggling. The waiting had been bad enough, because bad sounds had been echoing down to her in her own little corner of hell, but when they brought him back in, things took a turn for the worst. He'd been beaten, about the face and torso, but the worst of it was evidenced in his arms, there were needle marks all over them, he'd been drugged, and from the looks of his shivers and groans it wasn't the medicinal variety. Annie could feel the tears welling, he was dying and there was nothing she could do for him, he was dying and all she could think of was that he would leave her alone here trapped in a room with a rotting corpse.

* * *

"Jack!" Jackson's delirious cries were starting to really freak Annie out, all he seemed to do was call for Jack and then turn over and mutter to himself; "this isn't real, this isn't real." They hadn't come back for hours after throwing Jackson back in with her and she was beginning to wish they'd put both of them out of their misery. When Daniel fell silent Annie rushed over tears already pooling in her eyes and stomach full of guilt for her bad thoughts. But he was sleeping and not dead and her heart was pounding against his shallow pulse. 

Morning came when a bottle of water appeared in the center of the room; Annie was curled up next to Daniel, she didn't even remember falling asleep.

"It is real then," said Daniel with a groan. Annie sat up and looked at him, his eyes were lucid again.  
Daniel stretched and twisted got up took a long swig of water. "I had to put myself into a deep meditative state to starve out the drug. Sorry if I freaked you out," He gave her a lopsided grin and handed her the water. Annie took a sip, realized she was parched and gulped some more. "Better?" asked Daniel.

"I was about to ask you the same thing."

"Oh, I think you'll find that even for a 68 year old archeologist I'm very hard to kill and harder to keep dead."

"Keep dead?"

"Never mind," he shook his head. To Annie it seemed he'd gotten younger somehow, his face was lighter, but harder or focused was a better word. He looked more focused than when she'd first met him, despite the large bruises making impressionistic landscapes on his face. "Okay, you're the cadet, what do we have and what do we need?"

"We need to get out," she said gesturing to the door, "But we don't know where we are, who has taken us and how many men with guns are waiting on the other side of that door."

"Let me be the pessimist shall we? We have you and me in reasonable shape, and we know that they think I'm supposed to be a gibbering idiot about now."

"We do?"

"We do. That drug they gave me I've seen it before, it's a designer interrogator's drug. Truth serum and mind control cocktail very potent."

"Then why is it you're alright?"

"I've picked up a few tricks from my travels that help, and like I said I've seen this stuff before."

"What kind of an archeologist are you?"

"I'm a Linguistics specialist and an Egyptologist."

"That doesn't tell me why you'd have come across stuff like this before."

"No I guess it doesn't," he didn't elaborate, "Okay we're leaving," He walked to the door and realized there was no handle.

"Little snag in your plan?" asked Annie.

"Funny. Just give me a second here," Daniel knelt down slowly eyeing the gap between the door and the jam. "Damn-it!" he cursed and rubbed his eyes. "I can't see it." he turned to Annie, "You'll have to do it."

"Do what?" she asked kneeling next to him.

"This is a standard military issue barracks lock with the inside knob removed." he gestured to the metal plated welded where the handle would have been. "Use this," He produced a thin strip of metal.

"Should I ask where you got this?" she asked.

"I wouldn't," he said with the beginnings of a smile. Annie turned back to the lock.

"What am I looking for here?"

"There's a catch just this side of the lock, if you hit it just right the lock will…" Annie leveled the door open a crack. "…open." Daniel finished with a grin. "Nice work, you're a natural."

Annie smiled. "Let me check the hall, I'm smaller than you."

"Lie down on the floor and take a peek."

"Why lie down?"

"In case there's someone there. They're clearly military," he said by way of explanation. Annie just gave him a blank look. "Soldiers are trained to look straight ahead, not at their feet." he said.

"Oh," Annie crouched and then lay on the floor. Daniel inched the door open to avoid any telltale creaks. "All clear," said Annie after a few seconds looking up and down the corridor. Daniel opened the door and they stepped out.

"Well I never thought I'd see this place again," he said with a minute shudder.

"You know where we are?" asked Annie.

"I realized when they brought me out."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"You didn't ask," Daniel shrugged and began to walk down the corridor. Annie followed quickly behind.

"So where and what is this place?"

"It's a cliché but this is an abandoned military base outside of Colorado Springs, we used to do training exercises here."

"You still haven't told me what this is all about."

"No, I guess not," Daniel frowned. "Huh," They came to an intersection and Daniel led them down the right hand fork. "I think it's this way," he said and walked on ahead. Annie followed the clipped pace of the man an expression of disbelief on her face.

* * *

Jack walked slowly out to his car and sat in it. He watched as Daniel and Annie left the house. He picked up his cell phone and hit send. 

"He said, he'd think about it. But I think he'll go for it." Jack listened for a few seconds and hit end. He sighed. "I hope you're up for this Daniel."

* * *

Daniel had Annie open two more doors and they dodged a couple of black suits before they were finally outside. "Ah, fresh air!" said Daniel. 

"Ah, a great big fence," said Annie.

"What did I tell you about that pessimism?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone.

"Where did you get that?" asked Annie in disbelief.

"Oh, lifted it off the good Agent Lees," said Daniel absently punching in numbers. "Didn't I mention? There's no signal inside, had to get out to call," Annie shook her head. "Oh, sorry, it must be the drugs still resisting information leakage," he frowned, "What was that number? Ah, yes." he hit send. "Hello? Yes, D. Jackson, Budge is a moron. Oh, sure no problem," he held a hand over the phone, "She put me on hold," Annie rolled her eyes, "Ah, yes I understand, no that's okay I don't need his cell if you could just give him a message for me. Yes, tell him things went as planned just not his plan. Yes, I met with a Mr. Lees, but he worked for the wrong company. Tell him I'll be at my old haunt in two hours, but if he's not there by nightfall I'm backing out on our deal. Thanks so much." He hung up dropped the phone and stepped on it crushing it.

"Don't we want that?" asked Annie.

"Oh, no like homing beacons those things, might as well paint a huge bull's-eye on your back."

"I don't suppose they're much use for a man who hasn't left his house in five years."

"Who said that?"

"Agent Lees, said it, you asked why they'd waited five years to grab you," Daniel picked up a stone and threw it at the fence it bounced off, "Why'd you do that?"

"To check if it was electrified," Daniel shrugged, "Come on, up and over, they're going to have noticed our escape sooner rather than later," They both made it over the fence and started towards the woods. "If I'm remembering this right the main road is about ten clicks east of here, we can cut through these woods and make it harder for them to find us."

"What do you know about clicks?"

"It's a distance measurement," he said, "or didn't you cover that yet?"

"I've just never heard a civilian use the term."

"Yeah, well I'm not your ordinary civilian", He shrugged and started walking.

"Obviously," Annie said as she ran to catch up to him.

The alarms sounded about ten minutes after they entered the woods, Daniel paused listened and started running towards a small stream and jumped in, the water came up to his shins.

"Come on," he said, "we need to throw them off our trail," Annie nodded and jumped in behind him, she gasped at the cold. "Let's get going we won't be able to stay in here longer than a few minutes."

An hour later after dodging two patrols they exited the woods on to a road. Daniel grinned and beckoned her forward.

"This is perfect," He said, "I'll be able to steak the place out make sure my message wasn't intercepted."

"I heard your message and I still don't understand half of what's going on here."

"Really as much as half?" asked Daniel surprised, "Damn, I must be slipping."

* * *

Daniel and Annie trudged into the Coffee Place less than two hours later, wet up to their knees. The place wasn't empty, but not exactly busy. The other patrons took one look at the disheveled old man and exhausted teenager and quickly went back to their respective coffees. Daniel approached the counter. 

"Tell Jen I have a special order," He said, the cashier nodded a little surprised but quickly went about setting all the machines on auto. She put a 'back in 5' sign on the desk and motioned for the two to follow her.

"We keep all special orders in back," she said. She led them down a back corridor and into a small room at the back of the store inside there was a cot, a dresser, and a bathroom.

"This is perfect," said Daniel, with a grin.

"You need anything else just give me a shout."

"I'd murder a good cup of drip if you've got fresh." said Daniel.

The girl smiled. "I just made a fresh pot; I'll bring it with some cups and stuff."

"Thanks a lot for this."

"I'm just doing what I'm told."

"That's a surprisingly rare trait in this day and age."

"I got to be honest with you, I've been here 2 years and when Jen told me about this stuff I was skeptical of it actually being real."

"Yeah, well can't be helped, and you've done the right thing," Daniel checked the bathroom and pulled a case out from under the bed. He unzipped it to show fresh clothes and a smaller gun-case. He pulled it open and checked the weapon inside; it was a small 9mil with a couple of extra clips.

"Oh-" Daniel called out, as the girl turned to go.

"Sally."

"Sally, a man might call here asking for me, ask him what he's calling in regards to if he says he wants to know if I want to switch my long distance carrier, tell him I'd be delighted, but the reception is bad in this area." He slid the clip home and chambered a round.

Sally raised her eyebrows and glanced at Annie.

"Don't look at me, this is all his deal."

* * *

Jack hung up with his secretary and cursed the air blue. "Damn-it!" he thumped the dashboard. 

"Problem?" asked the woman in the back seat. Her steel grey hair glistened in the shadows that hid her face.

"NID got to him first; they must have been watching the house."

"Of course they were. What's their status?"

"Daniel got them out; they're in a safe-house."

"Which one?"

"An old haunt," said Jack opening his door, "I'll let you know," He said and got out.

* * *

Daniel sighed as the hot water soothed his tired aching muscles; he turned off the shower and got out. He wrapped a towel around his waist and went to the sink; the mirror was fogged so he wiped out a space so he could see to shave. 

"Jesus," he said staring at his reflection, he sported a spectacular black-eye and a bruised jaw. But it wasn't the injuries that made him pause. "When did I get so old?"

* * *

"Drive on," Major General Samantha Carter let out a deep breath as her driver took her back to Cheyenne, after dropping off O'Neill. She took a moment to ponder this version of the man she knew, but there was no comparing them, this Jack O'Neill was a lot lighter than the old one, not weighed down by the world's fate or the suffering of those close to him, the memories were there shadowed in the intense gaze, but this man had taken a different path and put the past behind him and found peace. Sam rubbed her face, a shriveled mask of the woman she had been, but still the same face as it had been before and yet there was nothing, no spark with this O'Neill, so little was his regard for her in any capacity that she was in fact questioning her memories of the original. Did Jack O'Neill ever care about her at all? 

She had that answer of course, he cared too much, but ultimately too little and so had she, a career officer if ever there was one, and now it was on the brink of being over, of being extinguished thanks to the morals and self-righteousness of one archaeologist. This was her last chance, she had to convince the right people that Jackson had what they wanted and she had to make them need him as much as she needed him. Sam swallowed back the acid in the back of her throat, the distaste she had at admitting to that much was painfully obvious and she had to get it under control before she went to the committee. They would agree; Daniel Jackson was still a legend that would not die in the halls of the SGC; they wouldn't give that up, not without a fight. Sam's smile was thin and cruel, as she thought about how hard and how long a fight it would be for the man himself.

* * *

Annie was trying to put her world back together. There was a government project under Cheyenne and bad government agents and two Jack O'Neill's and what could an archaeologist possibly do that's so important to national security he has two PMF's, knows how to use a handgun and uses safe-houses at coffee shops? Annie raked her hands through her hair. "This can't be real." she said to herself. 

"It is real, despite appearances," Annie's head shot up.

"Agent Lees," The NID agent stood door at the holding his gun on the shop clerk; Sally.

"Where's Jackson?"

"He's not here," Annie said hoping her voice was steady.

"I can see that I asked where he was."

"He went out to get us a car, said he'd be back in an hour."

"Then I guess we'll wait."

Daniel watched the scene through a crack in the door and groaned inwardly. He quickly reloaded the 9mil and then attached a silencer to the end.

* * *

Annie could never really put the next few minutes into a coherent memory, her thoughts of those moments came as a series of flashes; first the bathroom door slams open, second, Lees dropped the girl and turned, Jackson walking out the bathroom, wearing only a towel and a grim look on his face and then Lees was lying on the floor a neat red hole in his forehead. 

Jackson calmly unscrewed the silencer from his weapon.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked and flipped the catch on the gun. Sally nodded her face white as a sheet; she sat still where she dropped only pushing herself back from Lees' body. Annie nodded too numb to really process any of it yet. "We have to leave," said Daniel, "go wash up, we're leaving in ten." Annie moved in spite of herself, "There're dry clothes in the case," he called after her. Daniel turned to the shop girl, Sally. "We have to leave, a man with silvering hair and a scar above his left eyebrow is going to come in and ask for a cup of the special drip. Tell him the pot went bad and your manager has gone to ground to some more." Daniel moved to the cot and pulled on some pants as he went.

"What about him?" Sally pointed to the body of Agent Lees.

"Tell him that you were just about to call the cleaner because that bad pot made a big mess in the back-room. He'll either ask to see or tell you when you can expect someone to come and get rid of it."

Annie came out of the bathroom she'd changed into a clean shirt and jeans. "What kind of archaeologist knows about safe-houses and can hit a man with a dead shot between his eyes?" she asked and watched as Daniel pulled a loose sweater over his surprisingly muscular back, what caught her eye were the myriad of scars that scored his back, stripes diagonally thin cuts from shoulder to hip, whip marks, Annie's mine supplied, and what looked like a healed burn across his waist. This man had been tortured, she realized.

"One that's still alive." said Daniel, startling her by answering her question, "Come on let's go," He slid on a new pair of glasses from the suitcase and grabbed a backpack from the corner she hadn't even noticed and they were leaving back through the coffeehouse, back out into the almost deserted street. Daniel walked steadily, up right and sure, if his hair weren't grey one could be forgiven thinking him on the good side of fifty, except for the bruises of course.

Annie hurried behind him, she had nowhere else to go, she wanted answers and this man whoever he was would be the one to give them to her. They stopped in an old used car lot and Daniel headed straight for a pick-up at the back. He got in and gestured for Annie to follow, a key was produced from the backpack and they were on the road in second.

* * *

Jack stopped his truck just outside the Coffee Place and got out stretching his legs. He pushed open the door to the shop and went inside. 

Sally watched the man exit his truck, and walk inside she wasn't surprised now, when he said exactly what the other man had told her, and when he asked for the special drip, or when he asked to see the mess made by the bad pot, she was a little surprised when he took a photo-capture of the man's face and hands and then pulled out a funny looking gun that made him disappear, but she was so relieved that he was gone that how didn't really matter to her. The man gave her a number, and a message too, and then he was gone, serving coffee had never been so weird.

* * *

Jack walked out of the Coffee Place and his phone rang. 

"Are you there yet?" said the gruff female voice.

"Yeah, but we were beaten to it," said Jack turning on to the right street.

"They reacquired?"

"No, Daniel retired their man and they've gone for an alternate route."

"Do you know which one?"

"No, I'm going to have to check a few things out; it's been a while since we set this stuff up."

"We just got word they removed his transmitter."

"We figured they would though," said Jack.

"I've given the order to activate his nanites."

"You what!" cried Jack.

"We have to give him an edge, and we have to have a way of finding him."

"You know he doesn't want that," Jack ground out, "His exact words were over my desiccated corpse."

"I'm aware of Dr Jackson's feelings on the nanites, but the situation calls for drastic measures."

"He is going to be so pissed off when he realizes what's happening."

"Be that as it may, we can't afford to lose him at this juncture. You have to find him, Jack."

"I know," Jack sighed and hung up.

* * *

"So tell me more about your project," said Annie. 

"What project?" asked Daniel glancing at her and then back to the road.

"The one at the bottom of Cheyenne Mountain, the one we're being chased all over Colorado for."

Daniel smiled, "Now that would be telling."

"Yes, it would!" cried Annie, "And I would really like to know why I'm risking my life here with you!"

"I'm sorry, Annie," Daniel started.

"No! No, sorry! I want answers now!"

"It was a weapon," he said without preamble, "a weapon I found, and deciphered. A weapon I couldn't give them."

"Them?"

"My superiors, their superiors," Daniel shrugged, "Doesn't matter, it was too much."

"Too much what?"

"Everything, power, destruction, death, I drew a line."

"What did you do?"

"I sabotaged it, destroyed a key piece and then I destroyed all my notes, and findings."

"No one else can figure it out?"

"I am the 'foremost' expert in this language," said Daniel lifting one hand off the wheel to do an air quote. "Besides I destroyed the tablet, the only place those instructions exist anymore is in my head."

"And you can remember some instructions for a weapon in some obscure language, just off the top of your head?" asked Annie incredulously.

"Not unless I want to," said Daniel, he turned the wheel slowly down the winding country lane.

"Is this the same project you want me to be a part of?"

"The weapon is separate, it's seen as an ultimate goal in human evolution,"

"What's that?"

"The Power of God."

"So what's the project really about?"

"What it's supposed to be about and what I hope it can be again, if Jack is on the level and you and I don't die out here," Daniel took a deep breath, "It's about exploration, discovering new places, new people, different cultures and ways of life that you've never imagined!" his eyes shone as he spoke, "It's about knowledge, and how learning more about the people we were, can help lead us to the great people we can become!"

"So what happened?"

"Not everyone we met was a friend; we made enemies, bad ones, hell bent on wiping us from the face of the planet. The search for weapons, a defense became the all consuming goal, exploration was forgotten, and many good people died in a war the world knows nothing about."

"What did you do?"

"I kept going as best as I could and tried to inject a little humanity where I could."

"Why didn't you just leave?"

"I did, for a while, but this thing becomes your whole life and eventually I was drawn back to the fight."

"What did you get all those medals for?"

"For trying too hard to be something I wasn't," Daniel stopped the car and reached into the back for his bag. "We're here," he said.

Annie looked up here, was a good-sized rustic cabin by a lake in the center of a wooded glen.

"Where are we?"

"I inherited this place a few years back, I like to come here to relax once in a while." Daniel smiled and got out of the car, he started walking toward the porch.

"But Agent Lees said you hadn't left your house in five years." said Annie following behind.

"Agent Lees and his people forget who I am, and how many friends I still have," Daniel looked at the house with satisfaction and sighed, "Come on, I really need some coffee." Annie hurried after him; amazed the older man still had so much energy to burn.

* * *

Jack walked from the Coffee Place down main-street and towards Daniel's second choice of escape, he noted that the vehicle was gone and on top of the abandoned tarp, there was an empty bag of coffee. 

"Sonofabitch!" Jack cursed crumpling the bag in his hand. He ran his fingers through his hair and wracked his brain over where his friend might have escaped to, a smile slowly spread across his face as he realized the perfect hideaway. He pulled his cell phone, and wallet from his pocket, he took the money from the wallet and put the rest in the coffee bag and hid it under the tarp. He walked leisurely back to his truck.

* * *

Daniel knew something was wrong, when his knees stopped hurting, his knees hadn't really stopped aching since that rockslide around eight years ago. It had taken him a while to realize, but the glasses he'd picked up at the coffeehouse were a few years old, but they worked fine, despite his having increased his prescription several times in the intervening years. He walked over to a mirror in the hall and looked his reflection; the bruises had darkened in record time. He removed the bandage on his arm and cursed, the wound was almost totally healed. 

"Hey, that looks pretty good," said Annie coming up behind him, "Wait," she grabbed his arm, "This is almost healed, how it that possible?"

"I didn't want this!" Daniel yanked his arm away, "I just wanted to retire and relax, enjoy myself a little as I grew old and finally be reunited with my wife, with my friends!" Daniel squeezed his eyes closed, "Damn-it! She had no right!" suddenly his fist jerked out and he punched the mirror, shattering it into pieces.

"Dr Jackson!" cried Annie a little freaked out and stepping back from him. Daniel shook out his hand staring at his broken reflection. Annie turned and went into the kitchen she returned with a towel filled with ice, "Here," she said laying it gently on his now swollen and split knuckles. "Tell me what's going on." Annie coaxed.

Daniel raked a hand through his hair, and Annie noticed that the grey was actually more salt and pepper underneath. "I can't," he said despairingly turning away from her attentions, "I can't tell you," he said and then he pulled a set of keys out of his pocket, "here, take the truck, go."

"Go where?" she asked staring at him as if he'd gone mad.

"Away! Get away from here, away from this, this mess! I can't do this to you! I can't tell you about this grand adventure, when all I've wanted to do for years is escape it!" He shoved the keys at her hands, "Here, go! Just go." The last was spoken sadly, softly.

"But what about you?" she asked suddenly afraid.

He smiled sadly, "You don't need to worry about me. I'll be safely ensconced at the bottom of Cheyenne Mountain before the sunsets."

"I don't understand I thought you were retired?"

Daniel touched his face thoughtfully, and shrugged, "I've been un-retired."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Daniel raked his hands through his hair again and walked out of the hallway into the open plan living room of the cabin. "That means…That means, well, that means I can't go home, I'll be officially declared dead in a few months, a heart-attack or something," he shrugged one shoulder, "all my belongings and holdings will be transferred into the name of a distant or long lost relative and I'll be back on the community service circuit in time for your retirement." Daniel sat down on one of the long couches that surrounded the fireplace that dominated the room.

"I don't, I don't understand," Annie started forward towards him, then she saw it, the ease of his movements as he stood up and then crouched in front of the fireplace to set the logs, the cut on his arm was almost completely gone, the bruises on his face were fading at the edges and the knuckles that had been swollen and split moments ago were completely healed. "What's happening?" she asked crouching down beside him unable to resist running a finger over the new pink scar on his arm as he lit the kindling in the grate.

* * *

Jack knew the way by heart, though he hadn't driven this path in nearly two decades. It wasn't enough, he thought to himself, all that time spent becoming a new person, in some respects a better person, and yet even after all this time he still felt like Jack O'Neill, the old man and not his knock off clone. He still missed his old life, he still missed his old friends, and while his older self had died a gibbering wreck, it was almost better than being condemned to a life that to his body was barely beginning, but to his mind and memories was too damn long. Now he was condemning Daniel to the same fate and god knows that man really earned the break, the retirement, hell he'd even deserved the waterfront property reserved for him on Atlantis. Being a semi-retired consultant spending the rest of his life leisurely studying the Ancients and their city would have been perfect, except for that damn weapon. 

The Power of God, in the hands of the United States military, even Jack shuddered to think of it, though Daniel had never gotten around to telling them what that was after the preliminary report he'd worked none stop and then nothing. The device would not work, and playing with that much potential power, had Chernobyl written all over it. Then the device was stolen, or 'mislaid', as it had been put to them, and wasn't it just a coincidence that the weapon was shipped by the NID who simply forgot which plane I had been on? Everything happen so fast after that suddenly all of Daniel's notes were gone, erased from the database, and all hard copies mysteriously vanished. The tablet with the instructions on had been found almost ground to dust in its box.

"I keep telling them to be more careful with the artifacts," Daniel had said when he heard, and then just walked away. Jack had never seen the man more apathetic about the destruction of one of his rocks. No one knew, but they all suspected, and it showed in the allocation of mission assignments, Dr Jackson was no longer allowed off-world, and any artifacts deemed of military significance were to be kept from his desk altogether. Jack was impressed, it took a year for them to force Daniel out, and even then, it was Atlantis that clinched it for them, nothing else. They saw something they could hold over him for the weapon specs, but Daniel was always too much invested in the principle of the thing, and so he just walked away, to what he thought would be his death at the hands of the NID 'information gatherers'. Now it was five years later, and Daniel had not only resisted and survived their interrogation, he had escaped in the company of one very green cadet, and shot a man to save her life. Jack shook his head as he turned the wheel down a narrow country lane, some days he might curse the hand life dealt him, but in a pinch he'd pick his cards over Daniel's any day of the week.

* * *

"Nanites?" said Annie incredulously, her lips barely leaving the coffee mug before she took another long drink.

"That's right," said Daniel, holding his own mug between two hands where it rested on the kitchen table.

"Tiny microscopic robots?"

"Yup."

"And they're inside you repairing your injuries?"

"Yeah, they were programmed to supplement the immune system; I was injected a few years back after an accident. I was hurt and they healed me, and then they were shut down."

"Shut-down but still present," said Annie.

Daniel nodded.

"So why have they reactivated?"

"They were probably hit with a pulse from a remote cell tower, or orbiting satellite, after I called and left Jack that message, it used to be standard operating procedure incase the tracking chip was disabled." Daniel ran a finger over his arm.

"They can track you using the nanites?"

"It's complicated," said Daniel, "the nanites give off a barely detectable electromagnetic energy field, but it's only good for up to a mile away."

"What kind of receiver is needed to pick up the signal?"

"A standard EMF transceiver will do it, and they're a dime a dozen in the city, but out here, its pointless, nothing in any direction for about seventy-five miles."

"That was how Lees found us, he was able to continue from where the dogs lost us and he managed to pick up your signal."

"Yeah, that's probably it," said Daniel.

"So why are you getting younger?"

"The nanites don't know when to stop, they're starting with my most recent injuries healing them and then looking for more things to heal."

"Like?"

"Like my eyes, I think I've improved by at least two thicknesses in the last couple of hours," he said, "and my knees, I had a cartilage injury a few years ago, an almost constant ache, all better now," he smiled falsely.

"That's good, better eyesight, better knees, sounds like a good thing to me."

"But it won't stop there; the nanites will continue to fix what they perceive are imperfections in my cell structures providing accelerated healing or sometime even cell regeneration."

"So you'll just keep getting younger and younger, until what you turn into a baby?"

"No, that's impossible these are machines and you must consider the conservation of mass, a man my size can't be de-aged to the size of a baby where would the rest of me go?"

"Good point, so how young can you get?"

"The average human male growth rate stops completely at around 25."

"I'm sorry; I'm not seeing a downside here. This is the fountain of youth, you'll stay fit and strong and young for the rest of your life!"

"The rest of my life!" Daniel scoffed, "You mean the rest of eternity! If these things aren't turned off, they'll continue to stop the aging process and fix any injury I might acquire, this isn't youth this is immortality! I have worked hard and fought hard and I have seen too many of my friends and family die over these years, and what I do not want is a chance to do it all over again! I do not want to go back out there and watch young kids like you get themselves slaughtered, while I standby, invincible. Annie, you're too young, you won't understand this now, but trust me, no one wants to live forever, least of all someone who's actually lived their life already. Trust me, I know."

Jack pulled up next to the truck in front of the cabin and jumped out grabbing a small pack as he slammed the door. He ran quickly to the cabin and went inside.

"Daniel!" Jack called out coming down the hall into the living room.

"In here," Daniel called from the kitchen, Jack changed directions and hopped up the few steps into the kitchen area, he slowed down when he saw the two sitting at the table. "Daniel," said Jack, "Cadet." he nodded to Annie.

Annie nodded back, "Commandant."

"Jack," said Daniel, "Can I get you some coffee?" Jack watched as his 68-year-old friend walked across the room looking like a 40 year old.

"I brought an EMP," said Jack.

"I'm glad," was all Daniel said.

"Let's set it up in the living room," said Annie standing up.

"Okay," said Jack following the cadet over to the couches, he put his bag on the coffee table and pulled out a small naquada generator and a keypad. Daniel walked down to them with coffee mugs in hand, and Jack hit the button, short pulse emanated from the machine and Jack stood up and took his coffee. "You remembered how I like it," he said.

"Black is not hard to remember," said Daniel.

"Wait, that's it?" said Annie taking a cup from Daniel.

"That's it," said Jack.

"I think what the cadet is asking is what now?" said Daniel.

"Well, there are several choices here," said Jack.

"Choices are good," said Daniel.

"I meant for the cadet," said Jack, "your options are pretty limited as you well know."

"I know," said Daniel taking a long drink of coffee, "and don't think I know who set off those nanites."

"What are my choices?" asked Annie, interrupting the confusing conversation.

"The same one you had before Agent Lees and his friends crashed our party," said Daniel, "You can become part of the organization based under Cheyenne and undergo training that will prepare you for a posting on the project."

"Or?"

"Or, you can finish your training as normal and get posted anywhere else," said Jack.

"What about what's happened? What about everything I know; you expect me to walk away?"

"You know enough to make the choice, but in the grand scheme of things you know very little," said Daniel, "and as for walking away," he shrugged looking a Jack, "I never could."

"Neither could I," said Jack, "either of me."

Annie looked from one man to the other and back again, and then shook her head, "I need some air," she said and got up letting the front door slam shut as she went.

Jack watched her go, with a bland look on his face, and then sat down beside Daniel.

"So how many lives is this for you Danny?" he asked leaning back on the couch sipping his tea.

"Far too many," Daniel sighed and leaned back with Jack, "Don't call me Danny."

"I'm sorry," said Jack turning his head on the couch to face Daniel's head.

"I know," Daniel turned to face Jack.

"I wish I'd been here sooner."

"I'm glad you came."

"Me too."

"Did Sam tell you why she did it?"

"Not directly, no, but I think she was trying to give you an edge if you got caught again."

"Bullshit," said Daniel, "she's still not forgiven me."

"For what?"

"For leaving, for not giving her the weapon."

"She asked for it?" asked Jack surprised. "She of all people would know…"

"I know, but she was desperate, her position had been tenuous at best with IOA especially since her performance evaluations dropped significantly after Jack retired."

"Really? The old man was covering for her?"

"And you weren't?" Daniel scoffed.

"I may have overlooked a few, looks," said Jack uncomfortably, "but she was still a fine officer while I was still a part of the great Jack O'Neill."

"Yeah, I guess it was that year that things got really bad, even I didn't know the extent that Jack had been covering, but I guess that was part of his illness."

"What does this have to do with what she did today?"

"She's buying time, by activating my nanites she's bought herself the time she thinks she needs to wheedle the information from me."

"She was worried about you Daniel, worried that in your weakened state you'd break for the NID."

"Bullshit, she knows my record, I don't break." Daniel drained his mug and stood up, "besides if she was that afraid the information could find its way into the wrong hands, she'd have sent someone to stick a needle between my toes while I slept."

"Daniel!"

"Don't defend her Jack; you know damn well her reasons for doing this are purely selfish, just like denying me Atlantis and sending Vala instead, to get back at me for always being two steps ahead of her."

"Don't say that Daniel, Sam loves you."

"Sam used to love me, and some part of her I think cares, but most of the friendship we had evaporated when she set herself up in competition with me. Even though I never cared about winning and she only cared about not losing, the only reason Sam didn't send me a hypodermic surprise was she knew that killing me would bring me peace and take away the one route she has to the ultimate power."

"Surely you don't believe that Sam can be that vindictive?"

"You didn't look into the eyes of Repli-Carter just before she killed me," Daniel closed his eyes with a shudder. "So what does happen now?"

"You come back to the mountain, go back to the gate."

"Sam will never allow that."

"She doesn't have a choice, she's retiring."

"What?"

"The old man wasn't the only one whose head got screwed with a little too much."

Daniel sat down again. "How bad is it?"

"Atlantis bad," said Jack.

"That was Sam?"

"She made the adjustments to the power systems that led to the catastrophic failure of the shield when the city was submerged during a drill."

"Jesus!" cried Daniel, "Why is she still in command?"

"She has friends too Daniel, there's been a lot of maneuvering done to take her out of the picture without making everyone look stupid."

"So I'll ask again, what happens now?"

"Now, we try again, you and me."

"Try to do what?"

"I'm going to take control of SGC and you're going to lead the recovery efforts in Atlantis."

"But the shield failed."

"The fail-safe was still in effect the city rose, there were some survivors locked in airtight rooms, and Mitchell managed to beam a few off when the message came through from Vala."

"Cam's still commander of the Hercules?" Daniel asked smiling as he went to pour himself another cup of coffee.

"Yep, for going on ten years now, and he's still no forgiven you for naming the ship that."

Daniel laughed and it felt good, "I figured he'd always been fascinated with heroes he'd like the name of one of the most legendary heroes of all time."

"I campaigned for the Daniel Jackson."

"I know and I thank you for the compliment and I thank the powers that be for vetoing that idea."

"I hear Thor thought it was good enough."

"Thor thought O'Neill was pretty good too."

"So maybe we'll name the next on the Jackson-O'Neill to commemorate our reformed friendship."

Daniel smiled and shook his head, "So a new beginning for us, and the program?"

"The old mandate is reinstated, exploration and discovery, meaning of life stuff." said Jack, waving a hand into the unknown.

"New teams and new SG-1?" asked Daniel.

"Eventually, when we find the right people for the job," said Jack glancing back at the door.

"Annie?" asked Daniel.

"She'll come onboard if she still wants to after all this cloak and dagger mess," Jack shook his head in disgust.

"She'll come," said Daniel with certainty, "she's got the bug and she wants the answers."

"Sounds like someone else I know," said Jack nudging Daniel with his elbow.

"I'm a masochist I know, and so are you for that matter," he looked at Jack, "Let's make this promise," he said offering his hand to Jack, "Last life, best life."

Jack took his hand and held it, "Deal," he said and smiled.

* * *

Epilogue

Annie adjusted the straps on her pack, her excitement barely contained; she was actually going through the Stargate! Sure it was only to the delta site for 'orientation' but it was another planet! She glanced at her other teammates, wearing expressions of equal fear and excitement and she looked back up at the control room, where General O'Neill and Dr Jackson were standing, she knew it all now, or a least as much as official record told, they were two great men who had lived such terrific adventures, and such horrific losses. Heroes, she thought, though she knew that Dr Jackson would shrug off the accolade, as he had done his other awards, stuffed in a box under the stairs. 'Some things are more important' he'd told her with a knowing look in his eye. Annie looked back as the gate opened her eyes wide with amazement, this was it, she was about to step onto a whole new world, and into a whole new life of adventure. Annie walked up the ramp behind her teammates and paused at the event horizon marveling for just a second and then she closed her eyes and stepped forward.


End file.
